Insider Selling: Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Sells $337,621.50 in Stock

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Lynda Scearcy sold 8,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total transaction of $337,621.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,273 shares in the company, valued at $685,906.95. This trade represents a 32.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Lynda Scearcy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, October 29th, Lynda Scearcy sold 5,850 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.34, for a total transaction of $247,689.00.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ BSRR traded up $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.59. The stock had a trading volume of 23,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,876. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $28.35 and a one year high of $44.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.27. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 25.32%. The firm had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.23 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.84%.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,249,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,865,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,576,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 344,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,673,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,503,000. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BSRR shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $47.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

Sierra Bancorp is the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra, a community bank headquartered in Porterville, California. Founded in 1977, the bank serves individuals, families, farmers, small businesses and commercial customers in California’s Central Valley and surrounding communities.

Bank of the Sierra provides a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential lending, commercial real estate loans, business banking, agricultural financing and online and mobile banking.